Apple Will Announce 'GarageBand For E-Books' On Thursday

All the speculation surrounding Apple's media event this Thursday has focused on the company's effort to reinvent the textbook industry.

While textbooks will certainly be part of the equation, Ars Technica's sources indicate that the event will actually revolve around the introduction of a tool to create your own electronic reading material, a "GarageBand for e-books."

Matt McInnis, a former Apple employee who worked on education products for the company, said, "Practically speaking, Apple does not want to get into the content publishing business."

We agree -- Apple has historically released the means for others to create content, not the content itself.

Ars Technica reached out to Dr. William Rankin, the Director of Educational Innovation of Abilene Christian University who has researched the role that mobile devices can play in the classroom, and he said, "A recent study showed that 82 percent of all higher education students nationwide will come to campus with a smartphone. We need to have resources and tools ready for these mobile, connected students."

It looks like Apple's "GarageBand for e-books" could be a hugely significant tool.